Author Bio

Kelly Dack, CIT, CID+, is an experienced PCB designer with a demonstrated history of working successfully in the electronics manufacturing industry. He understands that PCB design involves a lot more than getting electrons to flow through a circuit on a PCB. He has dedicated his career to demonstrating that PCB design also includes how well a designer can lay out a PCB to flow efficiently through the manufacturing process lines for fabrication and assembly. Kelly’s holistic experience in the printed circuit design and manufacturing industries is underlined by proven PCB design capability serving a wide array of aerospace, medical, telecommunications, and gaming industries. Currently, Kelly provides DFX-centered PCB design layout and manufacturing engineering services for a dynamic EMS provider in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, he is employed by EPTAC Corporation as a Certified PCB Design (CID) instructor. Presently serving as the communications officer for the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA,) Kelly can be reached atkelly.dack.pcea@gmail.com.

This column is dedicated to providing news about PCB design classes and events, as well as helping engineers, designers, and anyone related to printed circuit design from around the globe to network and share information.

The Digital Layout: Onward!

Introduction

In my debut as the new author of this column, I provide updates on the direction and leadership of the PCEA, and Stephen Chavez shares his first “message from the chairman.” In addition, Bob McCreight, president of the Silicon Valley Chapter, discusses their group’s most recent “lunch and learn” event held in February. Lastly, we share our most updated list of professional development and event opportunities, although some may be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Stay tuned for more updates.

PCEA Updates

Over the past few months, our writer for “The Digital Layout” column, Stephen Chavez, was unanimously elected as chairman by our newly formed executive board at the PCEA. Steph graciously accepted, and the PCEA is delighted to be part of a vibrant, highly skilled team of PCB industry folks now led by an experienced, young, and newly-minted chairman. Steph has demonstrated a real zeal for helping the electronics industry and is surely capable of leading us successfully into the next decade.

Steph has written before that his main objective in writing was to promote continued globalization of knowledge-sharing for any and all involved in the design, fabrication, assembly, and test of printed circuit boards. “The Digital Layout” has been Steph’s labor of love for the electronics industry. He has put in many hours of his own time to lay the foundation, solicit interesting content, and craft this column into a must-read for people who want to engage.

To read this entire column, which appeared in the April 2020 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.

2020

In Kelly Dack's debut as the new author of this column, he provides updates on the direction and leadership of the PCEA and upcoming professional development and event opportunities, and Stephen Chavez shares his first "message from the chairman." In addition, Bob McCreight, president of the Silicon Valley Chapter, discusses their most recent “lunch and learn” event held in February.

Stephen Chavez highlights the Orange County Chapter’s recent meeting and their transition from IPC to PCEA affiliation, recent PCEA activities, and the evolution of this column, including introducing Kelly Dack, CID+, PCEA's new communication officer.

Stephen Chavez takes a first look at the new Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA), including an overview of members and membership and why we established the organization. He also looks at the mission of the PCEA, and how it will unfold to the industry.

In this column, Stephen Chavez shares a letter from the Legacy Officers and Board Members of the IPC Designers Council, introduces the formation of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA), and invites readers to consider future professional development and event opportunities.

2019

As the second half of the year is quickly passing by, the IPC Designers Council has seen lots of continued activities within our industry regarding PCB design. PCB West was held in mid-September in Santa Clara, California, and as usual, the show exceeded expectations. Stephen Chavez provides a brief breakdown of fall activities within local chapters.

We’re onto the second half of the year now, and we’ve seen lots of activities within our local Designers Council (DC) Chapters, including a few international chapters as well. Here's a snapshot of what has taken place so far from several of our active chapters.

This month’s column highlights the Monterrey Designers Council Chapter located in Monterrey, Mexico. The chapter was established November 23, 2017, which makes it a younger chapter compared to several other global chapters currently in existence today. I also share news about a new chapter forming in Nogales, Mexico.

So, what’s so special about the Orange County Chapter? For starters, we’re fortunate that a large number of electronics companies are located in Southern California, so there are many PCB designers in our area who are thirsty for knowledge. We are also lucky to have many local PCB fabrication and assembly companies from which we draw attendees and speakers. All of the major CAE vendors have offices and technical field personnel here and have been very supportive of our chapter in hosting lunches to help us keep our costs down.

This month’s column is packed with recent activities, including a spotlight on the San Diego Chapter and an interview with Luke Hausherr, the new chapter president. You’ll also find an update from the IPC Designers Council Executive Board as collaboration with the new IPC Education Foundation continues to evolve and recommended reading featuring an interview with a young designer.

The Greater Phoenix chapter was revived in late 2018 after being largely dormant over the past few years. It has also undergone some leadership changes. As the former president, I have taken on a more active global role at the executive level of the IPC Executive DC Board as the communications officer at large. I will stay on the leadership committee for the Greater Phoenix Chapter as the VP at the request of the newly elected president, Randy Kumagai. Randy and I have already started to brainstorm with ways to kickstart the chapter’s activity in 2019.

Our CID+ class had four people enrolled who came from around the area. All who attended learned about how board materials affected their designs, including EMI, EMC, impedance control, power distribution techniques, board stackups, and placement strategies in more detail than what was in the CID. Further, participants took the exam first thing Friday morning. This allowed us time to attend the Designers Council “lunch-and-learn” meeting, and the Altium user group met afterward in the same location.

This month’s column highlights the San Diego chapter, which is also where IPC APEX EXPO 2019 will be held at the end of January. You will also find updates on recent CID and CID+ certification success stories, a recap of the PCB Carolina event from the Research Triangle Park (RTP) North Carolina chapter, and upcoming events, so mark your calendars for next year.

2018

This month’s spotlight is the Silicon Valley Chapter. We held our fall quarterly meeting on October 25, 2018, at none other than Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California—yes, the site of Super Bowl 50 and the soon-to-be 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship game. This was made possible by our host, Sierra Circuits, and sponsor, Altium. We thank them both graciously. Out of 33 total RSVPs, 24 were able to attend the lunchtime meeting. Fun fact: of the members who RSVPed, six of them were CID certified and 10 were CID+ certified, with Faisal Ahmed being the most recent (hear more from him later).

Welcome to the first edition of "The Digital Layout." As a current IPC Designers Council (DC) Executive Board member and a long-time active IPC member, I was nominated to be the chairman of the newly created communications subcommittee. In this role, I will be the main point of contact for global chapter communications and will work with local IPC chapter leaders to publish content in this new column. We want to utilize this column to help spread the IPC DC Executive Board’s goals like a virus.